Colorado Avalanche left wing Alex Tanguay (40) scores on New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist (30), of Sweden, during the shootout period of an NHL hockey game Thursday Nov. 13, 2014. The Colorado Avalanche won 4-3. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

NEW YORK – I’m writing this blog on the last train out of New York’s Penn Station back to Syosset, N.Y., otherwise known as Long Island. That’s where I’m staying, Long Island, despite tonight’s game being played in New York City. Economics is why.
Decent New York hotel rooms run about $300-$500 a night right now. My stately room at the Long Island Marriott is $129 a night. Ergo, I’m on the train.
Nobody is drunk on this train, nobody is speaking too loudly, so it’s nice to be able to type in peace here. OK, just kidding. There are drunk, loud people all around me.

Amid this cacophony of inebriation, I offer the following sober-minded observations from tonight’s ice hockey game between the Avs and Rangers at the World’s Most Famous Arena (except, maybe, for that one in Rome):Read more…

Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche takes a shot wide of goalie Pekka Rinne of the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena on March 25, 2014 in Nashville, Tenn. (Getty Images)

On the last few shifts of Tuesday’s game at Columbus, Nathan MacKinnon played right wing on a line again with Paul Stastny and Gabe Landeskog, and that will stay the case for tonight’s game against the Rangers.

John Mitchell will center the second line, with Ryan O’Reilly and Jamie McGinn. Max Talbot will center the third line, with Patrick Bordeleau and Cody McLeod. Talbot, coach Patrick Roy said, has played some center before so this is not entirely foreign to him. He likes the physicality of the line, and he believes Bordeleau has played well enough to warrant more ice time on a third line.

This is when I used to be working harder than ever, this time of year. Playoff games, playoff rounds, sometimes all the way through June. That was then obviously.

But hey, it’s not always just an Avalanche blog here. It’s a hockey blog, so let’s dispense with a few thoughts on what’s been going on in the Stanley Cup playoffs so far:
– If the Conn Smythe voting were held today, it’d probably be a tossup between Philly’s Claude Giroux and LA goalie Jonathan Quick. I’d probably lean toward Giroux.

-In case you missed last night’s Rangers-Caps triple-OT thriller, I have a write-up of it for SI.com.

– Keith Jones’ rip job of Alexander Radulov in Game 2 of the Preds-Coyotes series was masterful in its takedown of the indifferent-looking Russian star.
Remember when Jones was a member of the Avalanche? I do, but it sure seems like a loooong time ago now. He was really on his way to a good career with the Avs until he tore up a knee in a collision with Chicago’s Eric Daze in a 1997 playoff game.

– I think the Predators outsmarted themselves some with all these late-season additions, like Radulov, Kostitsyn, Hal Gill, etc. Too much disruption to an already good lineup maybe. Then again, maybe they get on a hot streak after last night’s win and still take this series.

– The Rangers are a boring team to watch, but effective. They clog up the shooting lanes and just try to get that critical one-goal lead before collapsing around Henrik Lundqvist. It’s a tough way to play, because that style makes it hard to just break out a big lead. But John Tortorella wants his team thinking defense-first, always.

– There is some discussion going on about replacing the JumboTron at the Pepsi Center – finally. But whether there could be one over the ice in time for the next Avs season? It’s unclear at the moment. Might be another year.

– Not only is Chris Stewart in the doghouse in St. Louis (healthy scratch for Game 2 against LA), but former Av Kevin Shattenkirk is taking some heat for his play in the series (no points, -3). He has one assist in seven postseason games so far, at -4.

Terry Frei graduated from Wheat Ridge High School in the Denver area and has degrees in history and journalism from the University of Colorado-Boulder. He worked for the Rocky Mountain News while attending CU and joined the Post staff after graduation. He has also worked at the Oregonian in Portland, Ore., and The Sporting News. His seventh book, March 1939: Before the Madness, was issued in February 2014.

Chambers covers college and professional hockey for The Denver Post. He has written for the Post since 1994, after dumping his first 9-to-5 office job a couple years out of college. He primarily follows the University of Denver hockey team and helps cover the Avalanche.